Portugal’s Ministry for the Economy appears receptive to a debate about the possible rise of the minimum national wage to €515, announced the leader of the country’s main workers’ union CGTP on Monday.
Speaking to the press after a meeting with Álvaro Santos Pereira, CGTP leader Arménio Santos said the minister appeared willing to discuss the possibility of the national minimum wage increasing from the current €485 to €515.
According to the CGTP leader, the minister recognised that Portugal needs to revitalise its internal market and for that it needs to increase the national minimum wage and public pensions.
Arménio Carlos said: “The current austerity measures are forcing the middle class into poverty, the poor into misery and the miserable of the country out of statistical records.”
Arménio Carlos said that there are currently 400,000 workers in Portugal earning a net monthly salary of €432, below the poverty line of €434 a month.
